HIATUS - Devil May Cry: Restitution
by theBoneSnatcher
Summary: Rewrite and Sequel to Devil May Cry: Revolution! The new story sees Nero, Dante, Vergil and my own character Night on a the hunt for the Demon Emperor Mundus and the demons and cult responsible for his resurrection; the Black Web Covenant. Can they rely on Memphis from their previous encounter just a year earlier or must they rely on the power of Sparda alone?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1:

Mundus.

That wasn't a name Dante heard often these days. Not since he'd beaten the Demon Emperor more than ten years ago on Mallet Island… but for some reason, these days, he was hearing it a lot…

And that bothered him.

Everywhere he looked, every case he took, the people and demons involved all threw the name Mundus around like it was the latest fad out of Hollywood. By the time he took his tenth case this month, he'd punched a man in the face, pumped a demon so full of lead he couldn't tell the difference between it and the bullets, brought down an entire building to silence one deranged cultist and walked away from at least twenty different conversations with Trish.

And all because of /that/ name.

In an attempt to ignore it as he usually did these sorts of things, Dante did just that; ignored it. Every conversation, every case, every mention of the name Mundus. /Everything/.

At the moment he was sitting at his desk, feet propped up on the top of it with a magazine on his face to hide the fact that he was trying to sleep through another conversation Lady and Trish were pulling him into. A series of "MmHmm's" and "Sounds good's" or "Yeah's" slipped out from under the magazine as the girls tried to brief him on a new case. He just wasn't having any of it. Why?

Because it was a /Mundus/ related case. /Again/.

"Dante." Lady's irritated tone drifted into his ears. "Are you even listening?"

"MmmHmm." Dante's haphazard response slipped under the magazine, a startled noise escaping him when it was suddenly ripped off his face. "Hey!" He sat up a moment. "I was reading that!"

"Sure you were." Trish folded her arms and sat on the edge of Dante's desk. "If /I/ didn't know any better /I'd/ say you weren't actually interested in this case."

Dante just sighed and folded his arms, sitting back in his seat looking miserable. "Yeah? So what." He huffs. "It's just another group of zealots. I'm tired of dealing with these religious groups." He waves a hand dismissively. "Let the Order handle it. They like this sort of thing."

Lady retracted from Dante's desk and folded her arms as well, the three of them conveniently ignoring the knock at the door for different reasons. "Do you like money?"

Dante squinted. "What self-serving man /wouldn't/?"

"So?" Lady slammed the magazine down on the top of his desk when Dante just made a face and looked away. "Stop whining and take the case. Preferably /BEFORE/ the Order gets involved."

"I don't care if the order takes this one." Dante waved Lady off. "Call Nero why don't you, I'm sure he'd /love/ the history lesson." Almost as though he were on cue, Nero pushed open the front door and stepped inside, a loud groan escaping Dante as he saw Nero and 'company' walk into the establishment. "Oh GREAT!"

The Knight's of the Order slowed their pace, Nero scoffing at the remark. "Nice to see you too. Could have answered the door." He made a face and shook his head. "What's /his/ problem?" He motioned to Dante with his head and looked to Lady and Trish for an answer.

"Dante's whining because he doesn't want to take another case." Trish mused, earning a huff of disapproval from the elder hunter.

"That's NOT why I don't want this case." Dante squints at Nero and his compatriot. "Forgive me kid but the LAST time you walked in here we ended up on some friggin GOOSE chase to find your girlfriend that /I/ don't even remember!"

"Hey, as I recall YOU agreed to come with me, Jackass!"

"Only because I'd never hear the end of it if I left you again. It'd be the Saviour all over again with /these/ two around."

"Nobody asked you to come back for me!"

"Trish did!"

"So? Do you take /all/ your orders from her? What happened to the great Lone Wolf Dante, huh?"

"Scuse me?"

"…You sound like bickering old women."

Dante's attention was suddenly turned to the young man standing behind Nero now. "Yeah? And who are you, kid? The backup?"

Nero sighed and stepped in front of his partner to prevent the two from getting into it. "This is Night. He's a friend of mine from Fortuna. He's working a case with me."

"Oh yeah?" Dante moved, leaning to the side so he could peak around Nero to look at Night. "Yea don't say." He chuffed in amusement. "I didn't know you /had/ friends Nero."

"That's /real/ funny." Nero growls. "Bet you won't be laughing when I kick your ass!" And with that, Nero was reaching over Dante's desk to pull the hunter out of his seat, Lady and Trish quickly moving to the side and rolling their eyes.

"Oh my God!" Night on the other hand made an exasperated sound and turned for the door. "And THIS is the guy you wanted to help us with the case? Are you KIDDING me?" He makes a series of gestures with his hands. "You two can't be in the same room for five /minutes/ without going at it! How is this supposed to work?!"

Nero made a face and sighed heavily, retracting from Dante's desk as he turned to face his partner. "Despite his disposition he's actually a good guy."

"And /now/ you're defending him." Night squinted at Nero as the senior Order Knight almost closed the distance between the two of them. "You know, /you/ are a bloody hypocrite."

"How am I a hypocrite?" Nero scoffed.

"You told me you don't /remember/ what happened when Kyrie went missing last year." Night gave him a skeptical look.

"Yeah and I don't." Nero huffed. "I remember I had to save Kyrie, I remember I asked Dante for help and…" Nero's voice trailed off.

"… Annnd?" Night waved his hand around like he were trying to get Nero to elaborate further.

"And I don't remember what happened." Nero AGAIN huffed. "But that doesn't matter. What matters is that Kyrie is safely back in Fortuna and Dante can help us with /this/ case; /so/." Nero motions to Dante looking at them from his desk. "Do you mind if we finish up here?"

Night looked between Dante and Nero and eventually waved his hands and turned for the door again. "Fine, yeah, finish up here." He pulled his coat around him and pulled the door open. "I'm waiting outside. I feel like I'm /suffocating/ in this stuffy office. All I can smell is booze and stale pizza." And with that, Night was outside.

"Hey!" Dante threw his hands to the side. "I'm /right/ here!" Dante chuffed in irritation, looking to Nero as he approached the desk again. "What's /his/ problem?"

Nero again sighed and ran a hand down his face. "He's… got issues."

"Don't we all?"

"Lay off would yea? He's had it rough."

"So have I kid but I don't walk around insulting people's homes."

"Seriously?" Nero gestured to the side like he were exasperated himself now. "I'm here to ask you for your help and you want to lecture me about Night's manners?"

SERIOUS squinting ensued followed by Dante eyeing Lady and Trish cautiously before he huffed again. He figured whatever Nero wanted couldn't be any worse than what Lady was asking of him. "What d'you need kid?"

"I /need/ your help with this case." Nero looked to Lady and Trish for a moment as well before he continued. "More problems are cropping up faster than Night and I can deal with them and I don't know who else to turn to…" Nero paused and Dante shifted in his seat. "So… can you help?"

Dante mulled this over for a moment. "What kinda problems?"

"Demons mostly, but there's something off about some of the attacks I've seen lately. It's like the demons are looking for something or… Someone… And every survivor we've talked to has mentioned the same thing." Nero produced a small hand drawn picture and handed it to Dante.

The elder hunter took the picture and scoffed mockingly, gesturing to Nero with it. "You draw this?"

"No, Jackass; one of the survivors gave it to me." Nero glared at him and shifted uncomfortably. "His daughter drew that after the last attack; said this was what she saw in the sky moments before the demons hit."

Dante's look steeled and he let out a long, low sigh, his eyes trailing back down to the image in his hand. The image of three red orbs against a dark sky."…What was it you said they all mentioned?"

Nero rubbed the back of his head sheepishly trying to ignore the heated looks he was getting from Lady. "They all say they heard a name thrown around by some of the demons." The Order Knight gave a pause before he continued, almost like he were hesitating. "…The name Mundus mean anything to you?"

So much for ignoring it.

* * *

Night paced back and forth in front of Devil May Cry, the young man pausing and huffing like he were considering leaving before he simply continued to pace back and forth, back and forth, over and over and over again. It felt like he'd been out there for /hours/.  
Finally the doors opened and Night's head shot up to see who it was.

For a moment he was hopeful when he saw Nero… And then his shoulders dropped when he saw Dante walk out after him looking ready for battle. "…. AWESOME."

"Give it a rest, Night." Nero huffed, lightly punching Night in the arm. "He's cool."

"Sure. Cool. Cool like /ice/." Night rolled his eyes. "Did you brief him? Does he know where we're headed? Does he know exactly what we're up against? Because /I'm/ not briefing him on the trip."

Now Nero rolled his eyes, looking to Dante as he joined the two Order Knight's. "Yeah, he's been briefed. He knows as much as we do now; maybe even more."

"More?"

"Apparently similar attacks have been happening around here too."

"AWESOME!" The sarcasm was practically oozing out of Night when he started pacing again.

"I get the feeling you don't like me much." Dante chuffed, watching the young Knight in mild amusement.

"I've got nothing against you I just don't understand why we couldn't /call/ you instead of coming all the way down here." Night scoffed, pausing to shoot Nero a look. "We could miss the next hit because of this."

"I told you it was easier to talk to him in person. It's too easy for him to say no over the phone." Nero huffs. "Besides that, we /need/ Dante. We'll make this work." He then waved a hand to stop Night from continuing for a moment, the young hunter looking to Dante now. "You ready?"

"You kiddin?" Dante chuffed again and started walking. "/Way/ ahead of you kid!"

Nero couldn't help but note the air around the older man as he strode off. Something about his tone said; ' _Anything to get this over with_.' to him.

Night on the other hand, wasn't convinced of Dante's intentions, his squinting almost hurting his eyes at this point. "I don't think he's as /cool/ about this as you say he is. I don't trust it."

Nero just scoffed. "You don't trust much of anything." Again Nero found himself waving Night off. "Come on, let's get this over with before he breaks something."

Night watched Nero jog after Dante for a moment before letting out another exasperated sound and following after them. "I don't like this! I don't like this at /all/!"

* * *

Dante's silence throughout the whole walk back to the train station irritated Nero. He didn't understand why the elder hunter was being so secretive about what he knew. The way he looked at the picture, the way he reacted to the name; it all spoke to him… But whatever it was saying to him, Dante wasn't talking. At all.

And Night's suspicions weren't helping the situation either.

"You gonna say something or…?" Nero finally had to ask (at Night's prodding), coming to a stop when Dante sighed and turned to look at him.

"Say something about what?"

"About the case."

"What about it?"

Nero huffed and crossed his arms, eyeing Night for a moment before he continued. "How about starting with what you know." He huffs again when Dante just waves his hand and starts shifting around on the platform while they waited. "Dante." Nero moved so he was in Dante's line of view again. "You know something about this that you're not telling us. Why?"

"I don't know what to tell you, Nero; I know as much as you do."

"Cut the crap, Old Timer." Nero pointed at Dante and followed him as the elder hunter tried to walk away from the conversation. "You know something. You've been acting weird ever since I mentioned the name Mundus to you now /tell/ me;" Nero grabbed Dante's arm and spun him around to face him. "What the Hell is going on?"

Dante pulled his arm away from Nero just as the train pulled up to the platform, the wind from it kicking their coats and hair around a little as they stood there. He studied Nero's expression for a while before he finally decided to say anything. "… It's personal."

"…That's it?" Night was aghast. "It's just /PERSONAL/? Really?" The young Knight made a series of hand gestures before he could manage to get another word out. "What does that even mean?"

"It means it's personal." Dante turned to face Night for a moment. "You wanted my help and you've got it. You don't need any more than that."

"Dante!" Nero called after the hunter as he walked off up ahead and got on the train. "Damnit Night."

"What? What did I do?" Night feigned innocence.

"Look, I know Dante can be hard to work with but come on." Nero grabbed Night's arm and pulled him along. "Just let me do the talking, will yea?"

"Fine but I /don't/ like this. AT ALL." Night huffed, following Nero onto the train.

"I've said it before and I'll say it again; you don't like much of /anything/."

* * *

Again Nero found himself sitting in silence, the Knight occasionally chancing a glance at Dante to try and gauge what the hunter was thinking. With a sigh he leaned back in his seat and let his gaze drop to Dante's feet propped up on the seat in front of him. Somehow, he /had/ to get this man to talk. "…Dante."

"What is it now?"

"…I know you said this is personal for you but." Nero sat up and leaned forward. "You know; part of working together means trusting each other, sharing our resources to get the job done." He pauses to watch Dante's expression. "…If you know something about what we're up against, we could use your expertise…"

Dante remind silent for a while as he mulled over Nero's words. With a low sigh himself Dante finally shifted so he could look at the two Knights of the Order. "Alright look. What I meant when I said this was personal was that I have a sort of... personal investment in those involved. I've got history with the name." He paused and noted the looks on Nero's and Night's faces. "How much do you two know about the Underworld?"

Nero shrugged. "Not much; just what I learned from the Order and you after the Saviour Incident."

Dante looked to Night. "And you?"

Night made a face. "I know as much as I was taught growing up."

"…Which is?" Dante gestured with his hand. "Come on kid; details. You want me to share you better start fessing up."

Night sighed heavily. "I know that there was a Demon Emperor who tried to take over the human world roughly 2000 years ago. The Dark Knight Sparda turned against him and quietly reigned over the human world until his apparent death. He took a human wife, fathered some kids; that sorta stuff."

Dante made a face and chuffed in amusement. "You learned all that from the Order?"

"No, I learned that from my mother."

"You didn't tell me your mom knew about demons." Nero shot Night a skeptical look.

"So?" Night scoffed. "You didn't tell me you knew the infamous Son of Sparda." Night returned the look.

"Alright kids, we can compare egos later."

"That's rich." Nero snorted.

"Hey, you want my intel or not?"

"Okay, okay." Nero huffed, shoving Night's leg to get him to concentrate. "What d'you know?"

Dante let out a heavy breath as he prepared himself for the memories he was about to dig up. "Night was on the right track about the Demon Emperor. Mundus." Dante held up his hand when Nero opened his mouth to say something. "Mundus was defeated by my father about 2000 years ago, sealed him and the Underworld away along with his own power to protect the human world. 20 years after his disappearance Mundus was resurrected and I put him away myself." He conveniently left out the part where Mundus was responsible for the death of his mother and disappearance of his brother… And the creation of Trish. Just for now. Keep his cards close to his chest.

"So then why are all these demons running around mentioning Mundus?" Nero shot Night another look when the later scoffed.

"I assume something's going down in the Underworld. Demons don't generally plan attacks like this without a master telling them what to do, where to go and who to kill." Dante pulled out the picture Nero had given him earlier. "You said the victims all claim to have seen these three red orbs in the sky just before the attacks?" Dante let out a frustrated noise when Nero nodded. "Then it can only mean one thing." Dante leaned back in his seat and huffed. "Mundus has grown strong enough to re-enter the human world again."

"How can you be sure?"

Dante waved the picture around haphazardly for a moment. "The red orbs are a dead giveaway. Kind of a Mundus staple, if you know what I mean."

"AWESOME." Night rolled his eyes. "So what are we supposed to now?"

"Same thing we always do." Nero started. "Fight off the demons, beat the bad guy and save world."

"Oh yeah; walk in the park. Turned out /great/ after the Saviour Incident." Night shook his head and got up from his seat, the young Knight holding his hands up when Nero attempted to follow him. "Please, don't get up."

"Night."

"I'm going to take a piss, is that okay with you /Dad/? I swear it's like living under house arrest with you sometimes." Night gestured broadly to emphasize his words before striding off to find the bathroom, shooting a man in a cloak a heated look when he bumped into him in the aisle.

Nero on the other hand just sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

Dante eyed Night as he walked off down the aisle, the hunter eventually turning his attention to Nero when Night disappeared in the crowd of people in the back. "What's gotten into you all of a sudden?"

"It's nothing." Nero's reply was short and curt.

"Now I don't buy that for a second." Dante settled in his seat like he were expecting the best story ever. "Spill it, kid."

"It's nothing you need to worry about, alright?"

"Bull."

"For the love of God, Dante; just drop it would yea?"

"No can do kid now let's hear it." Dante motioned with his head. "Why are you so worried about him walkin off by himself?"

"I just… am, alright?"

"No one is that worried about a friend going to take a leak."

"They are if that friend is an alcoholic."

Now Dante was intrigued. "Scuse me?"

"I saw the bar on the train when we got on and the bathroom is right beside it." Nero huffed. "I was worried he was using it as an excuse to go drink."

"So Night's got a drinking problem, so what?" Dante shrugged. "It's not like he's hurting anyone."

"He's hurting himself." Nero shoots Dante a look when the hunter chuffed. "It's not funny, Jackass. Do you know how much alcohol a Cambion has to consume in order to get as plastered as he does? He can barely walk sometimes!" Nero gets up and sits in the seat Night was sitting in instead. "Forgive me for being concerned about my friend."

"He's a Cambion?"

"I like how that's all you took away from what I just said." Nero scoffs. "Yeah, he's just like you." The young hunter shifted awkwardly for a moment. "I thought you could sense that sort of thing."

"No, kid; I couldn't."

"Well you could with me."

The red clad hunter motions to Nero's arm with a subtle smirk. "You were a little more obvious." Dante looks up just as Night returns to their pod of seats, the hunter suddenly /very/ curious about Nero's little friend. "So." He eyed Night, his smirk suddenly more visible when the younger man sat beside him. "Cambion?"

Night's look dropped and he shot Nero a look. "You TOLD him?" He reached across like he wanted to punch Nero but settled for smacking Nero's leg instead. "Why would you tell him that?"

"I thought he knew already!" Nero retracted his leg and rubbed the spot Night had hit. "You /seriously/ need to keep your power in check. You have any idea how hard you hit sometimes?"

"We're getting off topic here." Dante shushed them both. "Night." He squinted. "Tell me about your heritage."

"Why? /Why/ am I the subject of the conversation suddenly?" Night shifted uncomfortably, mouthing the words 'this is your fault' to Nero who in return made a face at him.

"Because it's not every day that a Cambion pops up." Dante motioned between the two of them. "We're a rare thing, you and I. Now start talkin."

"Nero's got demon blood in him too. Why aren't you all over him?"

"He's a quarter; you and I are the halves here. So." Dante again motioned to Night like he wanted him to speak.

And again Night shifted uncomfortably, sighing once more as he sank down in his seat in an effort to get away from Dante's stare. "What can I tell you? My mom is human and my dad's a demon. I never met my father; he didn't even know I existed until I was twelve, he wants nothing to do with me as far as I've heard from others." A brief pause so he could think. "My mother's a nutcase living on a mountain by herself. I've got more scars than I can count because of my bloodline and I have /no/ idea how to prolong the use of my Devil Trigger." He looks to Dante and huffs. "Anything else?"

"What's his name?"

"Excuse me?"

"Your father, Night." Dante repeated the question a little more forcefully. "What's his name?"

Night swallowed thickly, looking to Nero as though he expected him to be able to help him out of this and groaning when Nero just shrugged. "… I…" He swallowed again, looking back to Dante. "I don't know."

"You know your heritage but you don't know your father's name?"

"What do you want me to say? I don't /know/."

Dante AGAIN sat quietly, silently observing the boy before he made a face and shrugged, sitting back in his seat again. "If you say so, kid." He still didn't buy it but he'd let it slide and leave the boys in an uncomfortable silence for the time being. He'd had enough conversing for one trip and he needed to conserve his mental energy for what was to come…

Now if he could just figure out what seat that cloaked man was sitting in…


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

Shortly after their brief conversation Dante pretended to fall asleep. His plan was to wait until Nero and Night fell asleep so he could find the cloaked man from earlier. It took them a while but Dante waited patiently until he could hear the soft breathing of the Order Knight's signalling to him that they were asleep before he got up and gingerly stepped over them to get out into the aisle.

"Alright. Now where are you sitting, Cloaky?" Dante looked back towards the bar and recalled the man coming from that direction when Night had gotten up earlier. "So then he must be this way." Dante turned and started in the opposite direction of the bar, the hunter hanging onto the backs of the seats as he went to keep his balance while the train was still in motion. He peeked in on every person wearing something that struck him as off and chuffed when he noticed the cloaked figure a few seats down from where he stood now.

With a push off the seats he strode forward and plunked himself down beside the cloaked figure with a smirk. "This seat taken?" He suppressed a laugh when the figure turned to face him. "Nice disguise, bro." With that Dante reached out and pulled the hood right off the man's head...

And then came the laughter when all he got was that typical glare from his older brother.

"/Why/ are you here, Dante?" Came Vergil's irritated voice.

"Same reason as you I suppose."

"You're an imbecile. You couldn't POSSIBLY be here for THAT."

"I like how you cut to the chase and get right to the insults."

"You're infuriating."

"And you're a prude." Dante snorted when Vergil almost punched him in the arm then whipped his head around to ignore him. "So." He mused, glancing back at his seat where Nero and Night were still sleeping. "You gonna tell him or should I?"

Vergil growled and shot him a look. "You will remain /silent/."

"I dunno Verg. The kid has a right to know."

"You wouldn't /dare/!"

"Wouldn't I?" Dante sprouted the most shit eating grin he could muster when Vergil just GLARED at him. They sat there in some sort of silent standoff until suddenly, Dante reached over and pulled the cloak right off Vergil and got up, the latter having been knocked from his seat when the fabric was pulled out from under him. "Hey kid!"

"DANTE!" Vergil nearly howled, shooting up and stumbling down the aisle after his brother. "INSANE BUFFOON!" He growled when he crashed into Dante. "WHAT is the meaning of this?"

"Wha-…" Nero whipped his head this way and that when he heard Vergil yelling. "What's going on?"

"Hey kid, look who decided to help us out." Dante draped and arm over Vergil's shoulders.

"…What?" Nero was barely awake. "What are you talking about Dante?"

"Ol' Verg here is gonna give us a hand with the case; aren't yea Verg?" Dante pat Vergil's shoulder with his free hand. "Wouldn't want me to air any of your dirty laundry when you're not around now would yea?"

"UnHAND me!" Vergil pulled away from Dante's embrace and stepped over Nero and Night (whom was still fast asleep) to take a seat. "Do NOT misunderstand my purpose for remaining here. The /only/ reason I am here is to make sure YOU remain SILENT." Vergil placed his feet on Dante's seat when the hunter attempted to sit down. "AM I understood?"

Dante made a face and waved his brother off. "Yeah yeah." He moved Vergil's feet and plunked himself down. "Message received loud and clear bro."

Nero just shook his head, eventually glancing at Night and scoffing. "…I don't know how you can sleep through this."

* * *

Nero stretched as he stepped off the train, shooting Dante and Vergil a look as they stepped off after him. "Remind me again why I agreed to this?" He huffed, watching the two Sons of Sparda exchange a few looks with one another.

"Trust me kid; this is for your own good." Dante winked, striding off up ahead with a self-satisfied smirk.

"Idiot…" Vergil growled, watching Dante practically strut off and resisting the urge to hurl a Summoned Sword into his head.

"So…" Night inched closer and nudged Nero with his elbow. "/Sons/ of Sparda?"

Nero rolled his eyes and huffed. "Give me a break would yea?"

"No, this is ridiculous. /You/ know THE Sons of Sparda. And you didn't say anything to me!" Night made a series of hand gestures as he tended to before he could get another word out. "What the /shit/, Nero?!"

"I didn't think anything of it!"

"Oh you didn't think anything of it." Night chuffed. "I find that hard to believe Mr. Let me expose what Night is to Dante while I conveniently forget to mention I know the Sons of Sparda."

"You're not gonna let this go are you?"

"No. Not easily." Night snorted when Nero just shoved his shoulder and started walking off. "Remember, it was /you/ who decided we were friends!" The young Knight took a moment to snicker to himself before he started walking after him but almost as soon as he started, he was stopped when Vergil's hand was suddenly pressed into his chest, halting his pursuit.

Vergil used Night's momentary confusion to step in his path and stare him down, squinting when the boy started to shift uncomfortably under his gaze. "…I know the secrets you hide. You may have my family fooled for the time being but /not/ me."

"What?" Night blinked, shifting almost like he felt guilty.

"Do not play coy with me." Vergil growled, leaning towards him in an effort to intimidate him. "I know where your power comes from even if others do not see it." He hissed, stepping forward when Night shrank. "Try as you may you /cannot/ escape your blood and if you try ANYTHING." Vergil almost closed the distance, his grip on Yamato tightening significantly. "You're /finished/."

Night just stood there, his shoulders practically up to his ears in an attempt to get away from Vergil's intensity. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest and he fought off the urge to turn and run back to the train; forget all about this bloody mission. Finally he let out a small sigh of relief when Vergil turned and followed after Dante and Nero. "…Could he really know?"

"Night!"

Nero's voice snapped Night out of his thoughts, his head shooting up to look at the senior Knight. "What?"

"You coming or what? I want to check in on Kyrie before we head out!"

Night hesitated for a moment when both Vergil and Dante stopped and looked back at him as well. He swallowed thickly and took a deep breath to calm himself before he nodded and jogged after them all.

"How much could he possibly know…"

If Night was lucky, Vergil was bluffing.

* * *

Night kept himself well away from Vergil after their brief conversation by the train. In fact, he was SO far away from EVERYONE that Nero was practically screaming in order for Night to hear him.

"NIGHT!" Nero hollered. "Slow DOWN would yea?!"

Dante chuffed and shook his head. "Why's he in such a hurry all of a sudden?"

Nero huffed in frustration and waved a hand. "Oh I don't know." He groaned, shooting Vergil a look suddenly. "What'd you say to him anyways?"

"Nothing you need concern yourself with." Vergil's reply was short and curt.

"You realize any time you say that it automatically makes people suspicious, right?" Dante stepped around Nero so he was standing in Vergil's path. "What gives?"

"Get out of my way you fool." Vergil growled, stepping to the side in an attempt to go around his brother, but the Dark Slayer only found himself growling again when Dante stood in his way once more. "Dante!"

"Come on bro." Dante smirked. "You're up to something; I can feel it."

"It is /none/ of your concern, now MOVE."

"WHAT are you DOING back there?!" Night howled from up ahead. "I thought you were in a hurry!"

Dante made a face and turned to face the boy with a huff. "Far as I can see /you're/ the only one itching to get outta here." He folded his arms. "Why are you in such a hurry?"

"I'd /like/ to get this over with!" Night made some exasperated sound when the others finally caught up with him. "We've kept the client waiting for over an hour because of this little side mission to get /you/."

"Scuse me?"

"Oh is /that/ why you're in such a hurry?" Nero chuffed suddenly in amusement, nudging Night with a grin.

Dante again made a face. "I get the distinct feeling I'm missing something."

Nero looked to Dante and held Night back with one hand to prevent him from silencing him. "Night is getting antsy because the client is his girlfriend."

"She is NOT my girlfriend!" Night howled, reaching out for Nero to clasp his hand over his mouth but ultimately missing thanks to the senior Knight's Devil Bringer.

"Sure, but that doesn't mean you didn't take this case so you could try and win her heart."

"Shut UP Nero!"

"Ooohh /I/ get it." Dante chuckled. "You're trying to show off for a girl."

"/I/ am just trying to do my job!" Night finally gave up on getting past Nero's Devil Bringer and stood back with a huff. "Are we done? Can we go?"

"Hold your horse's kid." Dante laughed, patting Night on the shoulder roughly. "We'll get there."

Nero took this turn in the conversation as an opportunity to distract Night from the Sparda Brothers for the remainder of the walk back to Kyrie's. He poked at him regarding the client and held him back from going after Dante when the hunter made his quips about it as well. After checking in on Kyrie and letting her know where they were headed, finally, the small group started towards the home of the client Night was so anxious to return to.

"Remind me why we're walkin again?" Dante groaned almost half an hour into the walk.

"Seriously?" Nero scoffed and looked back at him. "You walked all the way to Fortuna to deal with the Order before. Why are you complaining now?"

"Because I wasn't hiking like this." Dante huffed. "Besides, I had to get that sword back. I had motivation."

"And there's no motivation here?"

"You find something to motivate me, you let me know."

"Your dedication is /astounding/, brother." Vergil quipped, striding past Dante without so much as a passing glance when the red clad hunter stopped in his tracks.

"Yeah? Well your family reunion's suck. No booze, no girls; not even a friendly /hug/ for your little brother." Dante huffed mockingly.

"You never give me enough time to prepare."

"Are we seriously doing this right now?" Night huffed, stopping halfway up the hill and planting his hands on his hips. "Seriously?"

"Come on, Night; let's just keep moving." Nero looked back and motioned to Dante behind them. "He complains like this a lot. You get used to it after a while."

"Sure, yeah. Sounds like this'll be a /great/ time."

"/If/ you are done squabbling I believe we have almost reached our destination." Vergil growled from the head of the group. He waited for everyone to reach the top of the hill before he gestured to a large house just in the distance. "I assume this is the home of your /client/?"

Nero looked to the house and nodded. "Yeah, that's it." He turned to Night and smirked. "You sure you're up for this?"

Night made a face and punched Nero in the arm in response, huffing and trudging off down the path towards the house without saying a word to any of them (though he made sure to mutter a series of profanities about them under his breath.)

"Hooo." Dante chuffed. "He's really into this girl isn't he?" He smirked when Nero just shook his head, following after them when Nero started walking again.

By this point Dante was a just little curious now. He noticed a few demonic symbols on the way to this house that had him pausing in thought and even more once they were actually on the property; some of which he thought he recalled seeing before from his childhood when Sparda was still around.

Even Vergil seemed to take notice of some of them, the Dark Slayer squinting up at an intricately carved white marble pillar with various symbols and images in its surface.

"Where is this client of yours?" Vergil commented, running his fingers over an image on the pillar that reminded of Sparda.

"She's not answering." Night huffed as he stepped back from the door. "She might be around back; this way." He waved to everyone to follow him and lead the group around to the back of the house where a large courtyard lay before them. Everywhere they looked stood large grand statues carved from the same stunning white marble as the pillars, many of which lined a long marble pool full of black water.

"What the Hell is this stuff?" Dante made a face, sticking his fingers in the water and bringing them to his nose to smell it before wrinkling his nose.

"It's just water." Night made a face at him.

"How is THIS water?"

"It's full of minerals?"

"And these minerals make it black?"

"Well…" Night shrugged. He didn't really know the /why/ behind it.

"It does if they're not disturbed by man for thousands of years." A sweet voice startled the group.

Dante turned his head to face the source and snorted. "Is that so?"

"It is." The young woman folded her hands behind her and joined the group, standing beside Nero and Night. "You didn't say you'd be bringing friends."

"Yeah, sorry about that." Nero sighed and motioned to Dante and Vergil. "Cassandra, this is Dan-…" Nero was cut off.

"It's okay Nero; I know who they are." She smiled and looked to Dante and Vergil. "The infamous Sparda Brothers; Dante and Vergil, right?"

"And, who might /you/ be?" Vergil narrowed his eyes at her.

Night huffed. "/This/ is the client." He looked to her as though he were asking for permission to introduce her, only continuing when she nodded. "Cassandra Kit."

Cassandra smiled and looked back to the Sparda Brothers. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you both." She eyed Dante. "I've heard rumours."

"Oh yea? What kinda rumours." Dante mused.

"None that have done you both justice."

"Okay enough with the history lessons." Nero waved Dante and Vergil off. "Cassandra, you said you had information for us?"

"Yes." Cassandra turned and started walking, motioning for them all to follow her. "I heard about the attacks and I thought it was important to tell you about what I've heard."

"What have you heard?"

"Mostly rumours but… I've heard that these attacks are being coordinated by a cult lead by a demon." Cass eyed Nero cautiously for a moment. "The likes of which reminds me of what Sanctus was becoming."

"Did you happen to hear what they might be looking for?" Night interrupted.

Cassandra sighed lightly. "It's all just rumour and speculation; some more believable than others." She looked back at Dante and Vergil close behind them. "The most concerning I heard was that they're looking for someone, an heir to a lot of power in the Underworld." She paused and eyed Night and Dante. "Someone like /us/. Someone who hails from a very powerful bloodline."

"Us?" Dante chuffed. "You're a Cambion too?"

"I am." Cass smiled. "My father worked under your father; followed in his footsteps and took a human wife."

"What's his name?"

"Vinicerik." Cassandra shrugged lightly. "Towards the end of his time here in the human world most knew him as Erik."

"Erik as in Erik Gideon?" Vergil was suddenly /keenly/ interested.

"Yes." Cass was vaguely surprised. "How did you know that?"

"I believe your father crafted a weapon for me once. An old wakizashi I used to practise when my own blade was… Confiscated by my father."

"That sounds familiar." Cass smiled. "He did always enjoy crafting Japanese weaponry."

"We're getting off topic." Dante stepped forward so as to effectively end Vergil's conversation, the latter scoffing in annoyance. "Tell me a little more about this heir rumour you heard."

* * *

Nero couldn't help but notice Night's unease while Cassandra explained everything she knew. The mention of the name, Mundus, it seemed to unsettle him every time he heard it.

And when she mentioned a demon saying something about a 'bastard child', Night could barely make eye contact with anyone.

"…Night." Nero made a face and leaned towards him. "You okay?"

"What?" Night shifted a little. "Yeah, I'm fine." A pause. "…Why?"

"You seem shifty." Nero chuffed when Night made a face at him. "More so than usual."

"I'm just antsy. I want this over and done with."

"Why are you so eager to finish this? We've barely even scratched the surface of this case."

"I just do, alright? The last thing Fortuna needs is another incident like the Saviour Incident."

"/Are/ you two finished?" Vergil growled, glaring at them from his seat adjacent Cassandra and Dante.

"You feelin okay, Night?" Dante squinted. "You look a little pale."

Night bounced his leg and looked to the ground before he scoffed and got up. "Peachy." He looked to Nero when the senior Knight tried to follow him. "I'm fine, I just need some air."

Nero's mouth opened and closed a few times when Night started walking off. "Wha… You're /outside/!" Nero dropped his arms to his side and huffed when Night just kept walking.

"Is he okay?" Cassandra eyed Night.

"I…" Nero paused and shrugged finally. "I don't know. He's been acting odd ever since these attacks started. He's antsy and impatient; like he can't stay in one spot for long."

"Did it ever occur to you that perhaps he knows more than he's letting on?" Vergil paused while everyone turned and looked to him. "Perhaps the reason Night is as… /Antsy/ as he is, is because he is far more familiar with this case than you think."

"That's not possible." Nero scoffed.

"Have you asked him?"

"…Well… No, but-…"

"Then I rest my case." At this Vergil got up and walked away, ignoring the comments made by Dante as he left. Right now he was more concerned with the boy in the black coat he spied skipping stones across the black pond. "…Missing something?"

Night dropped the rocks in his hand and spun around with a huff. "Scared the /Hell/ out of me."

"I doubt that."

"What do you want Vergil?"

"I want to know /why/ you've said nothing to Nero of who you are."

"Because there's nothing to tell him."

Vergil growled and grabbed Night by the collar of his shirt. "/Do/ not pretend you know nothing. This is not a /game/, Night. There is only /one/ reason why this situation would make you uncomfortable and it is not simply because you have lied about being a Son of Sparda in the past."

Night gasped when he was grabbed and attempted to pull Vergil's hand off his shirt to no avail. "…I don't know what you're talking about."

"Do you think me a fool?" Vergil pressed Night's back up against one of the marble pillars nearby. "Do not /test/ me. You know /exactly/ what the demons are looking for, Son of Mundus, now /tell/ me." The Dark Slayer growled again. By NO means was he letting this boy get away with this any longer and he would see to it he found out EXACTLY what he knew. After all... "Who and what is behind your father's resurrection?"

It was only /Mundus/ they were talking about...


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

Night swallowed thickly at Vergil's words. How could he possibly know? He opened his mouth a few times but a strangled noise was all that escaped him, the boy shaking his head pathetically like he didn't know what to do. "…I…"

"/Choose/ your words VERY carefully Night." Vergil hissed. "I am not nearly as forgiving as my brother."

"… I can't."

"You cannot WHAT?"

"I can't tell you what I don't know."

"You /lie/." Vergil growled, pressing his forearm into Night's chest. "WHAT do you know? WHO is behind this?"

"I don't know who or what is behind this!"

"What are they looking for?"

"I don't know that either."

"You know something now ANSWER me!"

"ME!" Night finally shoved Vergil off himself, his eyes glowing orange for a moment as he distanced himself from the elder Son of Sparda. "…They're looking me ME." He huffed, turning to face Vergil once he had calmed down. "/I'M/ the bastard son they're talking about." He gestures broadly with his hands. "All these attacks have been…" A pause as his gaze drops. "…Because of me."

Vergil squinted, a low growl of frustration escaping him as he eyed the boy. "And /why/ have you not said anything to Nero of this?"

"Because it's not exactly a great conversation starter. 'Oh hey I'm Night, I'm a Cambion and the Bastard Son of Mundus. By the way did you know that the attacks recently have been because a demon saw me and reported my appearance back to Mundus before I could duck for cover?' Yea." Night scoffed. "GREAT ice breaker."

"Do not make light of this Night. This is /serious/." Vergil glided towards Night again, causing the boy to back up into a marble statue. "You have /no/ idea the severity of this situation. Bastard Son or not /you/ are putting EVERYTHING at risk by being here!"

"Don't you think I know that?" Night made an exasperated sound. "What am I supposed to do? It's not like I can fight them off by myself; believe me I've /tried/! The more they come, the more I've needed Nero's help to fight them off!"

"You could have isolated yourself. Fled to an uninhabited island rather than placing yourself in the middle of civilization." Vergil towered over Night. "Or, perhaps you should simply let them have you. Then this entire ordeal would be done with."

Night growled and tried to stand his ground, his hands fumbling around behind him for one of his guns. "I am NOT giving myself up to those demons." He scoffed. "I'm not martyring myself because you think it will make things easier."

"I am not looking for the easy road, Night. I am looking for the best solution; the one that benefits /me/." Vergil's grip on Yamato tightened when Night held up his pistol and aimed it for him. "I cannot trust that you will not turn on us. You are the son of the Demon Emperor; the very demon that destroyed EVERYTHING for my family. HOW can we trust you!?"

"I am not my father!"

"PROVE IT!" Vergil positioned himself as though he were preparing to defend himself. "TURN yourself over to him and let us handle this cult!"

"NO!" Night growled. "I /refuse/ to kill myself because YOU can't trust me! I am NOT Mun-…" Night paused when he heard breathing behind him and slowly turned around, noting only the statue behind him. "…Tell me you heard that."

"I did…" Vergil's eyes steeled as he approached the statue and ran his fingers down the face of it. After a moment, the Dark Slayer let out a light gasp and stepped back. "Our discussion will have to wait." He glared at the worn looking marble. "We need to speak with Ms. Kit… NOW."

* * *

"Where do you think Vergil ran off to?" Nero huffed, looking off in the direction said Dark Slayer had vanished in, vaguely wondering for a moment if he had gone after Night.

"Who knows." Dante yawned. "I'm more interested in why your buddy ran off in the idle of this." He motions to Cassandra. "I thought he was really into her."

"Well…" Nero eyed Cassandra whom offered him a small smile in response. "He is but…" Before Nero could finish his thought, Vergil and Night returned to the group.

"Guys!" Night huffed, his hands resting on his knees for a moment while he caught his breath. "You need to see something." He gestured over his shoulder.

"What is it?" Nero shot up and looked between Night and Vergil.

"It would appear your /client/ has some explaining to do."

"Me?" Cassandra made a face. "Why?" Her look dropped after a moment. "…What did you find?"

"Whatever it is, clearly it's something interesting." Dante mused, getting up and motioning for Night and Vergil to lead the way. "Let's go."

Cassandra followed close behind but she kept her gaze to the ground, like she was suddenly incredibly uncomfortable with the group being here. She kept her head low the entire walk towards the furthest end of the property where the shrubs and vines had reclaimed a lot of the pillars and statues in the garden, save for one of a woman that appeared to be shielding herself from something.

"What are we looking for?" Nero looked over his surroundings carefully like he expected to be attacked at any moment.

"This." Night motioned to the statue of the woman. "It's… Breathing."

"What?" Nero made a face at him. "Be serious Night."

"I AM being serious; it's BREATHING!"

"How is that possible; it's a statue."

"It would appear." Vergil interrupted, his eyes narrowed at the statue. "That whomever, or WHATever, this statue is." He looked to Cassandra who turned her head and avoided his gaze. "Is alive within it." He turned his body so he was facing her completely. "I sense a great malevolent energy surrounding this statue Cassandra." Vergil tilted his head ever so slightly. "Care to explain what this is about?"

"It doesn't really concern your investigation." Cass muttered quietly.

"I beg to differ." Vergil growled. "Of course, if you refuse to talk I suppose I could simply…" Vergil turned and faced the statue again, drawing Yamato from its sheath and pointing it towards it. "Cut it open and find out for myself."

Cassandra's eyes shot up and she let out a horrified gasp. "NO!" She pleaded. "PLEASE don't do that!"

"Then TELL me what this is."

"It's…" Cassandra's teeth grazed over her bottom lip as she hesitated to continue. "… It's my mother." She let out a heavy sigh. "The statue is my mother."

"What?" Nero looked between Cassandra and the statue. "How?"

"It was a demon." Cassandra folded her arms over her chest as though to shield herself from the conversation. "It happened about year ago; a great darkness swept over the land and with it came a powerful magic user. He called upon a demon that turned my mother to stone."

"Why didn't you tell us about this?"

"I didn't think anything of it."

"See? THIS is the kind of thing that happens when you DON'T think anything of something." Night shoots Nero a look. "Cassandra, do you remember ANYTHING about this guy? What he was wearing? What he said?"

Cassandra bit her lip and looked to the side as she recalled that day. "He wore a long hooded cloak that covered most of his face. He mentioned the name Palomar." She squinted in thought. "That was the demon… I think."

"…Palomar? Are you sure?"

"Yeah, that sounds right." Cass looked to Night. "Why?"

Night sighed himself and rubbed his face. "That demon is worshipped by a cult." He turned to Nero and Dante. "I think this might be connected."

"Just because the demon is worshipped by a cult?" Dante questioned.

"Yes." Night made a face and gestured with his hands. "It's too much of a coincidence, don't you think?" He looked back to Cassandra and placed a hand on her arm. "Do you remember seeing anything in the sky or a symbol on his cloak?"

Cassandra shook her head lightly. "No."

"Come on you must remember something. Something that stood out or seemed out of place."

"Actually…" Cassandra looked down as she thought again. "There was an image on his cloak…" She looked back up to Night and Nero. "Three red dots and a pair of white wings above them… And webs. Black spider webs."

Night swallowed thickly and sighed heavily. "Then we need to figure out where this cult is." For a moment he looked back to the statue, Cassandra's mother. "…If we can find them we can probably stop these attacks and restore your mother."

"Night's got a point." Dante added, striding towards them and smirking. "If this cult really is the same one behind all these attacks then we can deal with both; this case and your mother."

"You really think this could be the same group?" Cass looked between them all.

"Only one way to find out, babe." Dante winked and folded his arms. "We gotta find that cult, find the guy you saw and kick his ass."

"I may know someone who could help." Cassandra pulled out a phone and turned her back to everyone. "He's ornery but he knows about most of the cults in this area; especially those worshipping demons."

"Great." Nero looked to Dante and Night for a moment. "Can you set up the meeting with him so we can talk?"

"I'll have everything arranged."

"And what are we to do in the meantime?" Vergil shot Nero and Dante a look. "We cannot simply stand around and wait for this contact of Cassandra's to 'get in touch' with us."

"Well…" Nero made a face and scratched the bridge of his nose. "…We could always hit the Order's library."

All that could be heard after those words left Nero's mouth was the loudest groan from Dante the Order Knight had ever heard.

* * *

"This is ridiculous." Dante huffed in irritation as he tossed a book on the table, startling Nero out of his own book. "Once again, I'm not finding ANYTHING." He shoved the book down to the other side of the table towards Vergil. "YOU read it."

Vergil simply reached out and caught the book before it could hit the floor, his eyes never leaving his own book. "Need I remind you of the courtesy you are presently /lacking/ while in this establishment Dante?"

"Just read the book. I'm getting headache just looking at it." Dante sighed in frustration. "….Anyone else get the feeling we've done this before?"

"Honestly Dante." Vergil closed his book and huffed, looking to his little brother and ignoring his question. "HOW do you EVER get anything done without researching it first?"

"It's simple." Dante propped himself back in the chair, feet draped over the table in front of him as he usually did back at Devil May Cry. "I learn on the fly."

"Imbecile…"

"At least I didn't lose my coat on a train."

"We've been over this; I left it AND my scarf in a library last year." Vergil growled and closed another book forcefully, his bare arms exposing the tension he now held in his muscles beneath his black vest. "And that was AFTER your little stunt."

"So why didn't you go back and get them?"

"There was nothing to go back /to/, you fool!"

"Seriously?" Night gestured with his hands again and looked between Dante and Vergil. "You guys can't be ANYWHERE without fighting? Not even a LIBRARY?" He shook his head, rolling his eyes and returning to his own book when Dante just chuffed in response.

"How does this work anyways?" Dante looked to Night and then Nero.

Nero paused mid-sentence in his book and looked to Dante. "…How does what work?"

"This." Dante gestured to the Order's symbol on the wall with his head. "Your leader and officials are dead. How is the Order still around?"

Nero shrugged. "Someone stepped up and took over." He sighed when Dante made a face at him like the hunter wanted a better explanation. "Sanctus and most of the officials are dead but the Order is all the city has known for years."

"So?"

"So." Nero huffed. "Someone stepped up to pick up the pieces."

"What Nero's NOT saying is that TECHNICALLY he was made an official in charge of his own unit when the new leader stepped up." Night commented.

"Yeah." Nero made a face at Night like he were telling him to shut up. "A unit that YOU are technically a part of Night."

"You work FOR Nero?" Dante snarked in amusement. "Ha!"

"No, I work WITH Nero." Night waved him off. "He's not an official anymore."

"No?" Dante looked to Nero for an answer. "What gives?"

"I guess you could say I demoted myself." Nero huffed, turning his attention back to his book in an attempt to remove himself from the conversation now.

"Why would you do that?" Dante squinted. "You could do a lot of good with that kinda power."

"I didn't want it." Nero rubbed his right arm out of habit before he looked back to the red clad hunter. "I'm no leader. All I wanted to do was make sure everyone was safe; that Kyrie was safe." He sat back in his seat for a moment. "I can do that as Knight. I don't need to be an official."

"And THAT'S why they initiated the Senior Knights program." Night snorted. "Nero is pretty much the ONLY Senior Knight that's left so all the newbies, like me, look to /him/ for answers." He smirks at Nero's glare. "Technically I'm his 'protégé' but he calls me his partner."

"You ARE my partner."

"So much for the Lone Wolf."

"Shut up."

"I believe I've found something." Vergil's comment pulled everyone's attention to his end of the table as he laid a book out in front of them and motioned to the symbol Cassandra had spoken of earlier. "This symbol has appeared at least twice in this book." He glared at Dante for a moment. "How you managed to miss it is beyond me but here it is." Vergil pointed to the words on the pages as he spoke. "The Underworld Order of the Black Web was the original name of the cult at the time of its inception thirty years ago. Since then it has become the Black Web Covenant; a religious cult that practises under the laws of the Underworld."

"How would they know about the laws of the Underworld?" Dante flipped to the other page where Vergil had noted the other instance of the symbol.

"I assume this is where the demon comes into play." Again Vergil pointed to the words on the page. "They work through their leader called a Channeler who somehow 'channels' the Underworld through some form of magic."

"The demon."

"My thoughts exactly. The book goes on to say that through this Channeler they receive all kinds of information from which to base their OWN laws, but they had never coordinated attacks like this before." Vergil leaned back and sighed in irritation at this. "So it would appear that whomever this Channeler is now has summoned a demon they are using to turn this cult of his into a very dangerous weapon." He lets his arm fall back to the table. "The only problem is finding out who and what they have summoned and dealing with it before they can make matters worse."

"Just got a text from Cassandra." Night suddenly pocketed his phone and started packing up, the young Order Knight heading to the door with Nero. "The guy she wants us to meet is in town now; she's waiting for us at the Inn to meet with him."

"Great." Dante was probably a little more visibly excited to leave than he meant to be when he got up and started for the door. "Let's rock!"

"Contain your enthusiasm Dante." Vergil rolled his eyes, collecting his things and following after him. "Idiot."

* * *

The group anxiously stood outside Fortuna Inn awaiting Cassandra's go-ahead to speak with her contact. Night paced back and forth, Nero watched him and shook his head before getting up to stop him, Dante paced about himself, groaning and huffing off and on and Vergil simply glared at the doors.

"What the Hell is taking so long?" Dante huffed impatiently. "I thought this was going to be quick!"

"It will be if you stop complaining." Vergil growled.

"We've been standing out here for an hour!"

"It has ONLY been twenty minutes, Dante."

"That's twenty minutes too long!"

Finally Cassandra poked her head out the front doors. "Guys!"

Dante looked up and sighed heavily when he heard her voice. "Finally!" He strode towards the doors and stepped inside. "What gives? Why the wait?"

"I needed to make sure he wasn't caught off guard." Cassandra kneaded her hands anxiously. "He doesn't exactly like surprises."

"Well that's too bad." Dante waved her off and started towards the door Cassandra motioned to.

Nero, Night, Vergil and Cassandra followed closely behind him, Nero and Night cringing when Dante just walked up and kicked the door open.

"Dante!" Vergil growled, stepping forward to pull his brother out of the room when he strolled right in but the Dark Slayer stopped when he saw the man sitting at a table in the large room. "…You."

The man looked up, his icy eyes glancing over the group that had just so RUDELY barged into the room unannounced like this… then his look dropped when he made eye contact with Dante and realized WHO had just walked into the room. "…Oh FUCK me."

And with one look into his eyes, /all/ of Dante's memories came flooding back to him all at once…


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

As soon as their eyes met, his memories started flooding back to him, and it started with Vergil's voice…

" _Dante... You need to take a look at this..."_

" _You realize this is a public library you're in right?"_

" _What would help is if we had access to more ancient texts then what's available to the general public..."_

" _The book says that the Burning Palace is a demonic temple of sorts built to mirror one similar that lay's in the demon world."_

Then Nero's…

" _That's what I thought... Until I saw that name on the other side of the note..."_

" _I was told to ask for Tony Redgrave but I think you'd recognize my voice if I did that..."_

" _NO! It doesn't make me feel any better JACKASS!"_

" _They got her... They've got Kyrie..."_

And then… /His/.

" _The names Memphis, and... I'm the one who's taken your PRECIOUS Kyrie..."_

" _Well well well, lookie what we've got here. The half-breed brigade has found their way to the sacrificial grounds."_

" _Oh VERY fuckin cleaver, destroying the altar like that. Unfortunately for you, all I need is the rubble in order to make it work..."_

" _I sacrifice the blood... I'm not responsible for the flesh part..."_

" _Look we don't have time for the mushy little reunions here we have more important things to deal with, got it?!"_

" _That's because you idiots CAN'T move fast enough!"_

" _Idiot! I said DODGE not JUMP!"_

" _Stop fighting and move your asses damn it! I'm not doing this outta the kindness of my heart half-breed!"_

" _It was only a matter of time Dante. I got Nero and Kyrie two months ago you know…"_

" _You'll have forgotten me by the time I get around the corner..."_ That voice. _"_ _ **Take care of yourself kid.**_ _"_

Dante's eyes widened as the recollection suddenly hit him. He knew this man!

"Hey!" Dante laughed as though this were the most amusing thing on the planet. "How's it goin Tennessee?"

"Jesus fucking Jiminy Cricket!" The demon king howled in frustration. "WHY the fuck did you bring him here!?"

"What?" Cassandra looked to Dante in shock. "Memphis I swear; I-I didn't know you knew him!"

"For fucks sake!" Memphis pinched the bridge of his nose.

"…Wait a second…" Nero squinted in sudden realization as well. "You're the Jackass that took Kyrie!"

"Oh great yeah lets add HIM to the bunch!" Memphis huffed.

"You only brought this on yourself, Memphis." Vergil quipped in irritation.

Memphis growled and pointed to Vergil. "YOU have no say in this you little shit!"

Both Nero and Dante looked to Vergil, then to Memphis accusingly.

"Now hang on just a minute here." Dante looked back to Vergil. "How did /you/ already know him?" He huffs and looks to the demon king. "You never actually got to Vergil did you?"

"No." Memphis sighed in frustration, rubbing his temples like this were the most stressful conversation he'd ever been in.

"And you made it sound so important."

"Your brother's an asshole."

"You..." Nero growled and looked back to Memphis. "You /lied/ to me? About getting to Vergil, about Dante?" Nero sneered when Memphis just made a face at him. "I'm gonna kick your ASS!" And with that, Nero was launching across the table to grab the demon king by the collar of his shirt, Night the only thing stopping him from actually reaching him.

"Whoa WHOA!" Night pulled Nero back from the table and stepped between him and Memphis. "NERO! Are you out of your MIND?!"

"This jackass has it coming!"

"I don't doubt that but my GOD Nero!" Night pushes him back again. "He's a demon KING!"

"So what!"

"ENOUGH!" Memphis suddenly shoots up from his seat and strides towards the boys with a growl. "Yes, I lied Nero, but I did so with good reason." He whips his head around to glare at Dante and Vergil to his right. "You idiots weren't supposed to remember ME, /or/ any of the events from last year."

"Yeah and who's fault is that?" Dante chuffed, folding his arms over his chest.

"If I had gotten to Vergil then this whole ordeal would have been a non-issue but thanks to Mr. Avoidance I now have to go through the whole rigmarole of getting the higher-ups involved; AGAIN."

"And you have nothing to say of yourself?" Vergil scoffed. "As I recall you yourself were supposed to have your /own/ memories of the even wiped Memphis." Suddenly a smirk spreads across Vergil's face. "Pray tell, Memphis. What happened?"

"Nothing, I couldn't be subjected to it because I couldn't get to /you/."

"Right." Vergil stepped towards him and lowered his gaze in thought for a moment. "As you know, we are here because we require your assistance." He brought his gaze back up to the demon kings. "I presume this will not be an issue."

Memphis growled and jabbed his finger into Vergil's chest. "You, go fuck yourself. I'm not doing jack shit for you half-breeds."

"Very well." Vergil's smirk was still pulling at the corner of his mouth. "Perhaps then your younger brother would like to hear the story about how I've managed to evade you over the last year and half. How you have /conveniently/ used that little fact to postpone your /own/ memory wipe."

"Nice try kid but I-…"

"Is that not what you've done?" Vergil stepped closer to Memphis, never once breaking eye contact with him. "Have you not been putting in the absolute minimal effort you could to find me because you knew my abilities to evade your capture would be the perfect excuse to avoid your punishment in your home world?" Vergil chuffed and stepped away when all Memphis did was growl. "OR, perhaps I could simply tell your brother and the higher-ups about my little parting gift." He looked back to the demon king. "You /do/ recall the trinket I took from you last time we met, correct?"

"…You bastard."

"So then." Vergil again strode up to Memphis. "I digress; but you /will/ be assisting us on this mission, am I right?"

Memphis stood there and huffed, the demon king restraining himself from retaliating in any way by grinding his teeth together. After a moment he pointed to the door. "Get the fuck out." He growled. "I need to make a call; I'll be out there in a minute."

"Excellent." Vergil chuffed in satisfaction and escorted the rest of his group out of the room. "We /will/ be waiting for you."

"Yeah yeah." Memphis waved him off and stepped towards the back of the room, pulling out his phone and holding it to his ear, the dial tone dragging out the situation almost unbearably. "...Hey, it's me." He huffed when the person finally answered. "We got a problem." He glanced off to the group waiting for him in the hall. "Nah. It's your boy. He's onto something. Sooner or later he's going to be looking for you so you better have that relic ready." He scoffed. "Yeah, I assume it's probably about /that/… What do you want ME to do about it?" For a moment Memphis pulled the phone away and groaned, his grip tightening on it like he was refraining from throwing a breaking it before he returned it to his ear. "FINE fine; I'll help but ONLY because I owe you. JUST this once but don't you start bitching when he asks me where YOU are." With that Memphis hung up and stormed out to the group. "Not a FUCKING word."

* * *

"What the Hell Verg?" Dante punched Vergil in the arm once he caught up with him outside. "You wanna tell me what that was all about?"

"Do /not/ lay your hands on me Dante." Vergil growled, stepping away from his younger brother a touch. "There is nothing to speak of. I simply did what was necessary to ensure that Memphis would assist us."

"You're a manipulative little shit!" Memphis howled from up ahead. "Just like your father!"

"You have NO right to speak of my father!" Vergil howled back.

"BITE ME!"

"Geeze…" Night chuffed and shook his head. "Remind me again why this was such a good idea?"

"Ah he's an ornery old bag but in the end he means well." Dante waved a hand. "He was a real hard ass when we met but." He paused and looked to Night. "Let's just say things changed by the end of it."

"What exactly happened between you guys anyways?" Night looked from Dante to Nero and back again. "I mean, you remember it all now so…"

Dante sighed and pat Night on the arm when Nero shrugged and shook his head like he didn't know where to start. "It's a long story kid."

"It's a long walk."

"True." Dante chuffed and shrugged. "Started when Nero got a letter. He was to give up Yamato or face the consequences."

"Those consequences being Kyrie I take it?"

"Exactly." Dante huffed. "We met a few friends of Tennessee's, tried to help and hinder us. In the end in turned out that Memphis was trying to use something called the Burning Palace to open a gateway to his world so he could get revenge on his old man; but in order to do that he had us running on some wild goose chase to find the ritual." He motions to Nero. "And he kidnapped Kyrie to keep Nero motivated."

"And how did that end? I mean, what happened? Did he actually light it?"

"Light what, the Palace?"

"Yeah."

"Yeah he did." Dante slowed down and eyed Night for a moment. "How'd you know it had to be lit?"

"I uhh…" Night swallowed. "My mother was a sort of… Scholar you could say. She told me a lot of stuff growing up; stuff I had always thought was useless, until I met Nero." He paused and swung his hands out in front of himself. "The legend of the Burning Palace was just one of many things she liked to use as a bedtime story."

"Huh." Dante made a face and nodded. "Fair enough." He started walking again and Night let out a small sigh of relief. "Anyways, Memphis did succeed in lighting up the place. Hell he even succeeded in bringing his old man through."

"How did you guys stop him?"

Dante again had to pause at this as he recalled the whole situation leading up to Jesileth's defeat. He absentmindedly rubbed his hand where it had been cut that night and ran over the scene in his head like it had happened yesterday…

* * *

 **One Year Earlier**

 _"Hey Lucien, you feel like getting a circle ready for me?" Memphis called just as Jesileth grabbed him by the throat and sunk his fist into his gut._

 _"A circle?" Fin seemed confused by the kings' words._

 _"What the hell does he need a circle for?" Dante questioned the bat demon._

 _"I don't know what he's thinking as of now..." Fin replied looking rather lost._

 _"Oh oh! I get it!" Summit snickered as he hopped and skipped over to Dante and his brother. "He wants a circle."_

 _"Yeah we got that part already Summit; thanks..." Dante replied sarcastically._

 _"No no, you don't seem to get it. He wants a CIRCLE..." Summit gave them all an odd look like he assumed they should know this already._

 _"Oh... /Now/ I get it..." Fin sighed. "Dante, give me your hand."_

 _"What for?" Dante seemed overly skeptical as he held out his hand and watched Fin curiously._

 _"You'll see..." Fin reached into his pocket and pulled out a small silver dagger. "Just bear with me for a moment." Quickly the bat demon ran the small blade across Dante's hand, deeply gouging into his skin making his crimson blood pool out of the wound._

 _"OW!" Dante retracted his hand. "What the Hell are you doing?! What was /that/ for?"_

 _"In order to make this work, we need the blood of someone who's balanced."_

 _"And you think I'M balanced?"_

 _"Do you love your brother?" Fin asked fiercely as he grabbed Dante's hand tightly._

 _"Well... Yeah of course I do."_

 _"Even after all he's done to you?"_

 _"Yes now what does this have to do with you slicing my hand like that?"_

 _"Do you care about what could happen to Memphis if this continues?"_

 _"What?"_

 _"Can you love your enemy even after everything they've done?" Fin's gaze became steely as he awaited Dante's answer._

 _The hunter paused and looked the bat in the eyes long and hard, trying to figure everything out before he said anymore. "... Yeah, I care about what's gonna happen to him but only because I don't believe anybody deserves to be treated like this; especially by someone you expect to care about and protect you..."_

 _"Then you're balanced." Fin pulled Dante over to the pool of Jesileth's blood coating the ground and motioned to his brother to follow. "Besides that, you're a perfect balance of human and demon. Now, here's what I want you to do Dante. Summit is going to draw this circle in the dirt and I need YOU to follow behind him and trace it with your blood."_

 _"Are you kidding me? I'll bleed to death before you can get that much outta me!"_

 _"Don't worry, Crasious here is going to walk with you so you don't lose a fatal amount. It doesn't have to be perfect, just a few drops around whole thing is all we need. Enough that the design is visible but not enough to kill you..."_

 _"Ahhhh... You owe me for this yea hear?" Reluctantly Dante followed after Summit with Crasious and started to trace the outline of a circle filled with numerous odd symbols, the hunter still utterly confused as to how this was supposed to help them fend off the twin kings father._

 _"I really hope you all know what you're doing Fin..." Nero muttered quietly as he watched Memphis trying to keep Jesileth at bay so Dante, Summit and his brother could finish._

 _"To be honest.. So do I Nero.. So do I..." Fin stammered, lost in his thoughts. "Memphis, I hope you can remember what to do!"_

 _"Of course I do idiot!" The king growled from his struggle._

 _"You remember what could happen if you screw it up."_

 _"I wouldn't have suggested it if I wasn't aware of the consequences!" Memphis growled angrily as he was hoisted above Jesileth's head and tossed over the edge of a small canyon created by the kings' father from his earlier attacks. "Stop distracting me already and do your job!"_

 _"YOUR job? So you have a part in this too!?" Dante yelled._

 _"Yes, I have to speak an incantation before we can do anything but first YOU have to finish this!" Fin retorted._

 _"Oh none of you will get a chance to finish ANYTHING by the time I'm finished with Memphis. I'll have you all at my mercy!" Jesileth hissed and pulled his son to his feet for another assault._

 _"Damn it, he's not going to last for much longer. Dante we need to step it up a notch." Crasious stated as he lightly pushed Dante to move a little faster._

 _"I know that, but I'm going as fast as I can here!" The hunter growled in return._

 _"What is taking you so long Dante!?" Vergil leered from the sidelines. "How hard can this be?!"_

 _"Look, you wanna come over here and do this yourself?!" Dante snarled back._

 _"He can't, he's not balanced enough like you." Summit interrupted._

 _"Then how about I come over there and spill it for you, brother?" Vergil pulled Yamato from its sheath and motioned like he was about to walk over and gut him._

 _"Stop fighting and move your asses damn it! I'm not doing this outta the kindness of my heart half-breed!" Memphis shouted from the battlefield._

 _"Come on you two, just cut the crap and move!" Nero added._

 _"Almost done..." Dante muttered to himself as he shook his head trying to ignore all the chaos._

 _"Fin, you gotta start that spell." Nero pleaded._

 _"I need Memphis for that." He replied harshly._

 _"Can't you do it with somebody else?"_

 _"I could do it with Summit but it would take longer than it would with Memphis."_

 _"Then we'll buy you some more time; just get started!" Fin looked Nero in the eyes intensely after he spoke before he finally nodded and gave in._

 _"Alright... Summit!"_

 _"What?" Summit called from the other side of the circle._

 _"Let's go, you need to help me with this brother!" Fin motioned for him to raise his hands in the same manner as he and the two started to chant in their native demon tongue._

 _"We're running out of time!" Vergil growled again as Dante finished tracing the last of the circle and padded over to his twin feeling rather drained._

 _"I know... You think this is really gonna work?" He huffed. Vergil turned to look at his brother then turned his attention back to the scene._

 _"Quite frankly I don't care... But it better. I'd hate to think our father died twice for nothing..."_

 _"Yeah... let's just hope that's not the case this time..." Quietly the twin sons of Sparda watched as Memphis and his brother both fought long and hard to keep their father busy while Fin and Summit tried to finish the spell that would end the battle in the mortal world for good._

 _"Come on you guys..." Nero quietly pleaded._

 _"This better have been worth it to you brother.." Crasious half joked to his brother as they both lay on the ground battered and torn._

 _"Oh it will be once he's back where he belongs..." Memphis replied. The kings both swung their legs over their heads and jumped to their feet to avoid a skull crushing blow from their father._

 _"Alright, it's done! Memphis, Crasious! Get him into the centre of the circle; now!" Fin yelled, pushing his brother and the half devils out of the way. A small smile creased the demon kings lips as he turned his head back to his brother._

 _"Just like old times?" Crasious asked with the same grin on his face._

 _"Just like old times..." Memphis confirmed. With the last of their energy to two demons lunged at their father putting everything they had into one final blow that sent Jesileth flying backwards. The rogue demon rolled and skidded across the ground breaking bones and lacerating the flesh of his body until he finally came to a halt, pulling himself to his knees with a dark glare etched in his eyes as they fell upon his sons._

 _"You...You think you have me beat..." He growled demonically._

 _"Yeah, we do actually..." Memphis hissed. Confused by the sudden cocky tone in his son's voice, he looked beneath him. He lay in a pool of his own blood of that he knew but there was another scent. Slowly he looked to where Fin kept the half devils out of reach so no more harm would be fall them but something else caught the masked demons eyes. Dante's hand was slick with blood. His OWN blood, and that was the other scent around him._

 _"Starting to understand what's going on Father?" Crasious more mocked then asked. Now the rogue knew exactly what was going on. His head whipped this way and that piecing together the spell circle around him._

 _"What is this..?!" Jesileth bolted to his feet and continued to look around in ire. "You think a simple spell circle can hold me!?"_

 _"No... I don't think it can hold you..." Memphis said flatly, holding his jade encrusted pocket knife in his hand. "But I do believe this'll send you right back where you belong..." With that said, Memphis slit his and his brothers' hand before they held them out and forced the blood from their hands onto the circle of blood beneath Jesileth. "See you at home DAD..."_

 _"No..." Almost the moment their blood hit the ground the very blood that spilled from Jesileth's throat began to curdle and move towards him like it was possessed. "No! Damn you!" The demons black blood began latching itself to its former host like a swarm of leeches sucking the life out of an unsuspecting fish. Jesileth thrashed about furiously in an attempt to rid himself of the blood but to no avail. "This isn't over, you hear me Memphis. This is not over!"_

 _Just then, the ground within the circle began to crack open as the blood moved, pulling and yanking the rogue down into the earth. Back into the demon world he had been brought from until his screams were silenced by the stone cold earth shutting itself up again like nothing had ever happened..._

* * *

 **Present Moment**

"Dante?" Night's voice snapped the hunter out of it.

"Sorry. Lost in thought." Dante huffed and looked to Night. "In the end, we all fought together to put an end to the situation. Me, Vergil, Nero; even Memphis and his brother pitched in." He sighed and motioned for Night to keep walking with him. "We had to work together because individually we just weren't strong enough." He motions to Memphis up ahead. "That's how we know ol' Tennessee here." And then Dante pat Vergil's arm. "And thanks to Verg here; now we remember everything."

"UnHAND me, fool!" Vergil growled, yanking his arm away and storming off up ahead in an effort to distance himself.

"Hey." Nero looked to Dante and rubbed his right arm. "Do you think that something like that could ever happen again? I mean, Memphis said there were multiple places like that before and he wasn't exactly reassuring when I asked him if Kyrie would be safe." He paused as he looked off at the demon king. "Do you think someone else might try and use one of those places to open a Hell Gate again?"

"If I know Memphis like I think I do, he won't let it happen. Not after the whole ordeal with Jesileth." At this Dante draped his arms over Nero's and Night's shoulders, a smirk plastering itself on his face. "Anyways, the Burning Palace is ancient history now. We've got more important things to be worrying about; like getting as much information outta Memphis as we can before we start looking for that cult." He pat their backs and strode up ahead. "Let's rock."

* * *

The group gathered back at Cassandra's home to allow Memphis an opportunity to examine the statue as well as go over what Vergil had found about the Black Web Covenant in the book. The demon king was very quiet while he ran his hand down the face of the statue and flipped through the pages of the book to get a sense of what they were all looking for.

"…So." Memphis started, running his fingers down the page before closing the book and looking up at the group. "The Black Web eh? Shady shit boys."

"I don't care if they are a 'shady' group." Vergil growled impatiently. "What do you know about them?"

Memphis eyed Night for a moment, squinting at the boy when he shifted uncomfortably under his gaze before turning back to Vergil. "I know a lot." He motions to the group with the book in his hands. "I take it you've figured out some sort of connection between the attacks and this cult?"

"We have."

"Alright well." The demon king huffs and flips the book open again, pointing to the words as he holds it up for them to see. "This is a very shoddy translation but the basics are still there. The Underworld Order of the Black Web is…" He waved his hand in the air. "Kind of the translation. Very rough." He huffs. "Originally they were called Nigrum Tela de Inferni." Memphis paused and looked up from the book. "That's Latin for the Web of the Black Pit. It was a sort of play on the Web of Hades, or the Web of the Underworld they believed in."

At this Memphis turned the book around to face himself as he continued. "See, they truly believed that the Black Pit, or the Underworld, worked as a series of webs with a central being at its core whose power branched outward like a web. They also believed that this central being took to posting generals at the ends of his webs reach that would branch off into their OWN webs that would eventually blanket the entirety of the Underworld for a complete and unified reign." He snorts. "Foolishly they also thought THEY were one of those generals at one point. Didn't last long."

Night shivered. "Why does it always have to be SPIDERS?!"

Memphis again snorted. "Spiders are a universal fear, kiddo. You'll get used to it."

"NO. NO I WON'T."

"Anyways." Memphis muttered to himself as he continued to read and made a few faces. "Over the years they lost the Latin and started going by the Hades Order of the Black Web, again rough translation, and then in the last five years they switched to the Black Web Covenant." Now he closed the book and tossed it to Nero. "That's where the lore is useless. In the last five years the Black Web has changed drastically. What was once peaceful worship and a belief that humans could co-exist with demons by learning to live their lives around demonic laws has turned into a belief that humans need to." Memphis made dramatic air quotes, his tone dripping with sarcasm. "Bow down to the web of the Underworld. Be subservient to a reigning demon like Fortuna was when Sparda became its Saviour."

Night scoffed. "Only this time they plan on serving Mundus."

"Sounds about right." Memphis again eyes Night as he stands beside the group. "This statue. This is your mother?" He looks to Cassandra.

"Yes. Her name is Larissa." Cassandra sighs lightly. "She was cursed by the leader of the Black Web."

"Nah, that's no curse kid." Memphis folds his arms over his chest. "That, is an affliction. She's been poisoned in a way."

"So then there must be a cure." Night commented, looking up at the statues face and squinting in thought. "Where can we find the Black Web?"

"Not here." Memphis tilts his head as he looks Night up and down.

"So then where?" Nero waved a hand in front of the demon kings face to get his attention. "If they're not here in Fortuna then where are they?"

"I never said they weren't in Fortuna, they're just not HERE." Memphis swatted Nero's hand out of his face. "The problem isn't so much as FINDING them as it is CATCHING them."

"What the Hell's that supposed to mean?" Dante huffed.

"The Black Web is a group full of magic users. Hiding their hideout within the very fabric of the city isn't beyond their reach." Memphis waved a hand in the air, blackish red energy sparking around his hand and forming into a sort of gateway in the air. Beyond the small gateway was what appeared to be another world full of flying creatures and acrid air. "See, so long as you know how to control the flow, you can open a gate to anywhere with a little magic." With another wave of his hand the tiny gateway was shut and vanished into the air. "The only problem is their hideout is hidden in a place that moves much faster than your world here."

"So what does that mean?"

"It means you'd have to find a way to slow them down to open the gate."

"Well the Order's got something called the Key of Cronos." Nero looked to Night and Dante for a moment. "I could grab it and a portable Chrono Slicer and be back here in less than an hour."

Memphis made a face and shook his head. "That's a great idea kid but it's not enough. The Key of Cronos is still a prototype. It works for the holder and for a short period of time so even if you did manage to make it work, you'd lose your allies here."

Nero huffed in frustration and a scoffed, whipping his head to the side. "Well then what would /you/ suggest? How can we slow down time if an item capable of getting ALL of us there doesn't exist?"

At this Memphis made a face again and looked to the side. "….Well I never said an item capable of it never existed, you just can't use it on your own."

"Then how, pray tell, do we use such a device?" Vergil growled.

"You'd need a full-blooded demon."

"Such as yourself?"

"Nah, they'd be lookin for my power. I was thinking more like your old man."

"What?" Dante's reaction made Memphis smack his hand against his face. "Hang on here. What do you mean like our old man?" He exchanged odd looks with Vergil for a moment. "Isn't he dead?"

"….Well." Memphis again made another face, caught in his own lies. "…Not exactly."

"WHAT?" The boys were suddenly upon him.

"What do you mean 'not exactly'?" Vergil growled again.

"How long have you known he was alive?" Dante added.

"When were you planning on telling us?"

"What gives Memphis?"

"WHERE IS HE?!"

"ENOUGH!" Memphis howled, stepping back to put some distance between himself and the Sparda boys. "One question at a time for fucks sake!" He straightened out his coat and huffed in frustration. "Yes, your father is alive. I've known since I left you boys at the Burning Palace because he approached me shortly after I left to find Vergil."

"What was the purpose of this?" Vergil demanded, the scowl still largely etched on his face.

"He wanted me to help him hide…"

* * *

 **One Year Earlier**

 _Memphis slowed his pace and huffed, the demon king still feeling rather winded from his fight with Jesileth. He stopped entirely and looked around the charred landscape in an effort to locate the ever stubborn Vergil who had taken off before he could wipe their memories. "Vergil!" He growled in frustration. "God damn this kid."_

 _"He's a strong willed boy." The voice behind him made Memphis whip around to face him. "Once he's made up his mind, very little will change it."_

 _"…Sparda."_

 _"You've made some rather grievous mistakes Memphis."_

 _Memphis took a step back and eyed the Dark Knight carefully. "I don't understand…" He squinted. "…You faked it? AGAIN?"_

 _"Yes well." Sparda huffed. "It wasn't easy but it was necessary nonetheless."_

 _"How? I saw him rip right through you!"_

 _"You saw precisely what I wanted you to see." Sparda stepped towards the demon king and narrowed his eyes lightly. "I simply redirected his hand to a less vital point and retreated to heal myself with a vital star I had removed from Dante's coat while he checked on me in my moment of defeat."_

 _"…And what if you missed?"_

 _"There was a gold orb in my back pocket for such an occasion." Sparda huffed. "In the end, what was most important was that every single one of you assumed I was dead."_

 _"You're an asshole."_

 _"My sons are more than capable of handling a demon like your father."_

 _"They sure weren't acting like it." Memphis let out a low hiss when Sparda simply shot him a look. "Anyways…" He tilted his head lightly. "What's up with the gig? Why fake your death again?"_

 _"I fear something is stirring in the Underworld…" Sparda lowered his gaze as he let those words hang in the dry air around them for a few minutes, just enough to let the idea sink into the demon kings head. "…Memphis." He looked back up at him. "I suspect that this cult, this 'Black Web' may have something to do with this, small as they may be for the time being, but regardless I need to hide." He handed Memphis a piece of paper with the symbol of the Black Web Covenant on it. "Call it superstitious but I fear Mundus may be resurfacing and if that is the case I need to restore my strength to its fullest before I have even the slightest hope of stopping him again."_

 _"And you want me to hide you…" Memphis rolls his eyes and takes the paper from him. "…What about your son?"_

 _"Vergil will be fine. I suspect the boys may need your help in the coming months and it will be easier on all of you if they can recall you as needed."_

 _"Alright." Memphis sighed heavily and looked at the paper again. "And what do you want me to do about the Black Web?"_

 _"Research them. Find out everything you can about them. I anticipate the boys will need your expertise."_

 _Memphis scoffed and tore the paper up in a futile form of retaliation. "Remind me again how I ended up your lackey?"_

 _"You endangered this world with your antics, Memphis." Sparda growled and nearly closed the distance between the two of them, his body sparking with the first surge of his Devil Trigger. "You owe me this."_

 _Memphis retracted and growled himself now. "Fine, whatever. I'll look into the cult and keep my eyes peeled for the next stupid stunt your boys pull."_

 _"That is all I ask of you."_

 _At this Memphis simply rolled his eyes, the rebellious part of him wanting to storm off and do exactly the opposite as Sparda had asked of him. This only served to amuse the Dark Knight, a light chuckle escaping him that had the demon king hissing again. "What's so damn funny?"_

 _"You." Sparda mused with a subtle smirk. "You haven't changed since you were boy; always walking around with that suspicious look on your face." Sparda took a moment and hummed thoughtfully as he studied Memphis's familiar demeanour. "But I can still see your mother in you." Another pause as Memphis shifted. "Lucien made the right choice, sparing you and your brother."_

 _Memphis again shifted uncomfortably, looking everywhere BUT at Sparda until he finally couldn't take it anymore. "Yeah yeah. Save me the heartwarming memories; I already said I'd do it." He waved him off and strode past him. "Look into the cult and keep an eye on the boys; I get the point. I'm your eyes and ears on the ground while your head's in the clouds." He stopped and looked back at him. "So we doin this or what?"_

* * *

 **Present Moment**

"That's nice but that doesn't tell us where he is." Dante scoffed impatiently.

"Nor does it tell us WHY our father would have this device you speak of." Vergil growled.

Memphis groaned and turned the boys around, shoving them forward so they would walk. "It MEANS, we need to head back into town. You can't do shit tonight and I'll explain the device when we get where we need to be." Memphis sighed and ran a hand down his face. "In the meantime, you need to rest so you can save your strength for what's to come, got it?"

"Yeah yeah, we hear you loud and clear, Tennessee."

* * *

The group returned to Nero's small apartment for the night, Vergil taking to the spare room and locking himself in it in some sort of attempt to cut himself off from everyone, Dante immediately taking over Nero's bathroom for a long overdue shower while Nero departed to check in on Kyrie. All who remained in the home were Memphis and Night; the latter sitting at Nero's kitchen table with his head in his hands while he recalled the day's events.

"So." Memphis's voice startled Night, the boy almost falling out of his chair.

"Scared the HELL out of me; asshole." Night growled, settling back down in his chair and shooting the demon king a look when he pulled out a chair and sat beside him. "What do you want?"

"Let's chat."

"….About?"

"What you know."

Night sighed and smacked his forehead on the table. "You too?"

"Not every day the Son of Mundus walks through my door." Memphis let out a low hiss. "So, let's hear it."

Again Night sighed heavily, lifting his head from the table and lolling it to the side to glance at Memphis haphazardly. "Hear what? You're not exactly being specific about what you want from me." He shook his head and gestured with his hand. "What do you want to know; why I haven't told Nero yet? Why I'm hiding it from Dante?"

"Nope." Memphis waved a hand. "I get why you're hiding it and why you haven't told Nero. What I want to know is why you're not telling them about your connection to the Black Web."

Night froze in place and swallowed thickly, like he'd been caught in some horrible lie he'd told someone. He held the kings gaze for the longest time before he suddenly stood up as though to leave. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"SIT DOWN." Memphis pulled Night back down onto the chair and turned the whole thing around so the boy was forced to look at him. "You got weird about the symbol, you're the Son of Mundus and you cringe with each mention of the name Palomar now START talkin kid."

Night squeaked when he was forced back into his chair, gasping when he was pulled towards the king and shrank under his gaze. He sat there quietly for a moment before he finally tore his gaze away from Memphis and looked to the floor. "…My mother was… Or, technically still IS a member of the Black Web."

"Interesting…" Memphis leaned forward, resting his elbows on his legs. "They don't usually induct women into the Web. What's her position?"

"High Priestess I guess?" Night shrugged. "She was married to the leader, took part in some of the rituals to commune with the Underworld."

"And where does Mundus fit into all this?"

"My mother she uh…" Night had to pause, his teeth grazing over his bottom lip as he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "She was… Sacrificed to Mundus. I think he was just making an example of humans." For a moment Night chanced a glance at Memphis again. "She never really told me what happened; just that she was 'defiled' and took off when she realized she was pregnant with me."

"What's her name?"

"Lavinia."

"Full name kid."

Night huffed, throwing his head back with a groan. "Lavinia Conner. She's a witch, anything else?"

"Where is she now?"

"She's losing her mind up on a mountain by herself."

"And if I asked you to take me to her?"

"You're on your own…"

Memphis squinted lightly, a thoughtful hum escaping him as he eyed the boy's tense shoulders. "…Take off your coat and shirt."

Night's head snapped up, a horrified look on his face. "W-w-what? Why?"

"Take em off kid; let me see it."

Night shook his head, clutching his coat and pulling it tightly around himself. "No."

"Kid, I'm not asking you. TAKE IT OFF."

Night's eyes fell to the floor and he grimaced at the thought. Slowly, the young Knight sat up and pulled his coat off, draping it over the back of the chair before he reached for the hem of his shirt. Again he hesitated and looked to Memphis, almost as though he were pleading with him not to make him do this. The king's intensity however, made the choice very clear and Night felt he had no choice but to pull the white fabric up over his head, setting the shirt aside on the table and clutching his right arm uncomfortably. "…Why…?"

"Turn around…"

Night sucked in his breath through his teeth, turning around in his chair to expose his back to Memphis, all the while clutching the back of the chair and biting his knuckle to keep from making any noise. He didn't even notice Nero standing just out of view in the hall to the kitchen as the whole scene unfolded, the boy to concerned with the fact the Memphis was now running his fingers gingerly across his back.

Across each and every scar.

"…Why did you want to see this?"

"Who did this?"

"My mother."

"Why?"

Night hesitated as he thought about it, the memories of being tied up and whipped suddenly overwhelming his head.

" _No more, please! I'm sorry Mommy! I'm sorry!"_

Night whipped his head to the side and let out a shuddered breath. "It was the same thing all the time. I had to repent. Make penance for my sins every time I used my power. Any time I did something that remotely reminded her of HIM."

Memphis made a face, his hand lingering on a particularly deep scar. "Whip?"

"Yeah…" Night huffed. "…You must think I'm pretty pathetic."

"Nah." Memphis pat the boys arm and sat back, the demon king continuing when Night turned around. "I've got my own scars kid. Father used to enjoy beating the ever loving shit outta me and my brother so I understand the pain." He grabbed Night's shirt and handed it to him. "Just do yourself a favour and don't let this." He made a gesture with his hand. "ANY of this, come between you and them; got it? Not even your parents."

"…I'll try." Night watched Memphis get up and walk out of the room, his eyes lingering on the darkness of the hall for a moment before he got up and pulled his shirt back on. As he was reaching for his coat, the sudden presence of another in the room made him pause.

"…Night?"

Nero's voice made Night freeze in place, the young Cambion straightening out his posture when Nero approached him. "…How much did you see?"

"Enough." Nero looked over Night's shoulder as though he were trying to look at his back but ultimately settled for placing a hand on his shoulder and returning his gaze to Night's. "Why didn't you tell me about this?"

"Tell you about what; my sorted childhood or my mother's association with the Black Web?"

"Both." Nero sighed. "Why would you keep something like this from me?"

"Because I was ashamed." Night huffed and ran his hands down his face. "What would you have said? What would you have done?"

"Nothing." Nero made a face when Night just scoffed. "Look, Night. You're like a brother to me. You've been there for me when I didn't think I had anyone." He moved so he was still in Night's line of view. "Let me return the favour would yea?"

"…You're going to make me tell Dante and Vergil about this aren't you?"

"Well." Nero chuffed. "You ARE our inside man. We may need your expertise; anything you may have picked up on from your mother regarding this cult."

At this Night threw his head back and groaned dramatically. "HOW did I know this was going to happen?" He huffs and shoots Nero a look. "If I die because of this I'm coming back to poltergeist your stupid ass."

Nero just waved him off with a chuckle, draping an arm over his shoulders and leading him out of the kitchen. "Sure you will." He mused. "You remember you're afraid of ghosts, right?"

"SHUT UP!"

Jovial as the moment may have seemed, Night knew as he watched Nero walk off to his room for the night that something… SOMETHING, was going to wrong. Very, VERY wrong…


End file.
